Coral Springs obstacle course shows texting while driving is not much to LOL at

August 10, 2010|By Ihosvani Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel

CORAL SPRINGS — With one hand on the steering wheel of her mom's Mercedes-Benz and the other hand grasping a cell phone, Erica Krasne tried to text while driving.

As she maneuvered around traffic cones, a driving instructor tossed an inflatable, masked wrestler into her path. She ran over "Louie" the dummy.

"OMFG!" the 15-year-old somehow managed to send, using the text-world abbreviation for "Oh My F------ God!"

"Did I really hit him?" Krasne asked.

The scene played out repeatedly through much of Monday morning in the parking lot of the Coral Square Mall. About a dozen teens and parents took turns navigating an obstacle course while texting and talking on cell phones.

And if the nondriving activities weren't enough to create a menace, the teens endured bystanders and back-seat drivers yelling at them, the radio blaring and, of course, a nagging parent in the passenger's seat.

"I was feeling more nervous than her," said Erica's mom, Fran Krasne, of Parkland.

Sponsored by Allstate Insurance, the live-action "Family Driving Challenge" was designed to drive home the point that distracted drivers contribute to about 25 percent of all reported accidents, according to the company's research. The demonstration is on a 38-city tour. In 2008, about 6,000 people died in crashes involving a driver who was paying attention to something other than the road.

"These days it seems we are constantly multitasking," said Stacy Kagan, an insurance agent who helped bring the obstacle course to South Florida. "It's not how we used to drive just a few years ago."

And it wasn't just the teens who were mowing down traffic cones and inflatable dolls.

One texting dad came to a screeching halt in front of a doll, then ran over it. One mom, who was talking to a driving instructor through her cell phone, let go of the steering wheel completely when she was asked to wave.

"It's not good," said Gil Sternbach, a father who missed "Louie" by mere inches. "You don't really notice how distracted we get until it's pointed out like this."

Krasne's mom did an excellent job of talking on the cell phone, but when she drove the course while texting, she took out three cones.

Organizers say having a parent complete the obstacle course is an integral part of the program. About 90 percent of teens surveyed by the company say their parents are the biggest influence on their driving habits.

"I think we've learned some lessons," Fran Krasne told her daughter after the demonstration. "You need to stop texting and using curse words."

Ihosvani Rodriguez can be reached at ijrodriguez@SunSentinel.com or 954-802-9622.